News:

The sessions have now concluded. I realize that the uploaded videos and the audios are not perfect. My hope is to rerecord these videos and edit them better. These videos will take time. I hope to finish them by the end of the summer. My track record is not great. Please feel free to enjoy them and continue to watch them on your own time. Thank you for all your support.

If you enjoy what you see below, I am looking to start a new series in the fall and would like your input. What topics or ideas interest you? My current thought is a series called "Tough Questions" where we explore and discuss the more difficult social, moral, or theological questions. Please email any thoughts or ideas that you have to cwilliams@ctkmsla.org. Thank you.

About

Bible Basics is a series designed to help you explore the Bible. The first session focuses on the basics of understanding the Bible, issues of translation and the different translations, and how to interpret the Bible. The following sessions systematically explore all 72 books of the Bible. Each session will focus 0n specific books, their themes, historical context, and some difficult passages held within each book. The goal of this series is for anyone to feel comfortable opening up the Bible and exploring its content.

Each week has two separate sessions that will cover the same material:

Wednesday at 7 pm at St. Albert the Great Parish in Alberton, Montana

Thursday at 7 pm at Christ the King Parish in Missoula, Montana

One session each week will be recorded and posted on this page. If you have any questions while listening to the sessions, feel free to email me at cwilliams@ctkmsla.org and I will be happy to answer your questions.

This session returns to the historical time line of 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings from the perspective of the Chronicler (the person who wrote the book of Chronicles). The major theme of this session is exile. The main ideas of this session are:

The differences in perspective between 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings as compared to 1 and 2 Chronicles

This session begins the overview of the prophetic texts. Since the prophetic texts fit into a very different genera and style than what we have previously studied, this session will focus on the differences in style and theme found in these texts. The follow are the primary focal points of this session:

This session concludes our discussion of the minor prophets by looking at the final six minor prophets of the Old Testament books. The same themes in Session 8 reoccur in many of the prophetic texts of this session.

SESSION 12: WISDOM BOOKS PART II: ECCLESIASTES, JOB, AND SONG OF SONGS

This session is a continuation of Session 11. Unlike Session 11, this session will not return to the conversation of poetry and the saying prevalent in the other books. Instead the focus of this session in on the narrative wisdom books. The narrative wisdom books take the themes of the other wisdom books and relays the same message in a story. Now we are invited to explore the theme of "God is God and I am not" in the context of a story.

This session finishes both the historical books and the Old Testament. The books of Tobit and Judith follow the journeys of the main protagonists, Tobiah and Judith respectively, as they encounter God in the events of their lives. The books of Maccabees ends the saga of the Jewish people and leads into the New Testament. The themes throughout these books are:

God has a plan and helps those who follow it

God chooses unlikely people to aid in understanding his will

The books of Maccabees are revolutionary in their concept of the afterlife.

The New Testament. Much of the history from Session 13 carries over into understanding the New Testament. The New Testament contains three genera of writings: Gospels, letters, and Revelation. In this session we will explore:

The Gospel of John is a rather peculiar Gospel compared to the other three. John is aptly named, the theologian, because his text attempt to explain the life of Jesus from an almost lofty theological vantage point. The themes of this session include:

The characteristics of John's Gospel that separates it from the other Gospels

The themes common to John's Gospel

The passages particular to the Gospel

an exploration of some of the passages of John's Gospel

SESSION 18: THE LETTERS OF ST. PAUL

The writings and person of St. Paul cannot be overestimated. This session explores both the person of St. Paul as well as his letters. The session includes:

An introduction to the genera of letters

An introduction to the person of St. Paul

An overview of the Letters to the Roman, 1 and 2 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, Philippians, and Philemon

The Book of Revelation is one of the more complicated and misunderstood of the books of the Bible. Therefore, this session will slowly and carefully read through large chunks of the Book of Revelation while looking at major themes. These themes include:

Apocalyptic Literature: its focus, style, and themes

Themes of the Book of Revelation: liturgy, God's revelation, numerology, etc.

This final session focuses on the types of resources and information you will need to feel confident and excited about continuing to study the Bible. My hope is that these introductory sessions will give you the confidence to continue to reflect on Scripture. This session will discuss: